 Newbury Family Accept Out of Court Asbestos Damages from Oxfordshire Laboratories
 Brigitte Chandler The family of a Newbury man who died from an asbestos related disease has accepted a £90,000 out of court settlement from the Council for the Central Laboratory of Research Councils in Didcot.
Michael Holmes of Hermitage, Berkshire was employed by the Council as an experimental officer at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory from June 1962 until May 1989.
During this period he was exposed to asbestos in the form of sindanyo board, asbestos tape and asbestos lagging on steam pipes which were used to heat the premises. He died in 2003 from mesothelioma cancer caused by asbestos, aged 67.
His wife Julia and sons, Anthony and Andrew Holmes were able to bring a claim for compensation after contacting former colleagues - they appealed for witnesses in local media - who were able to provide more information as to the exact nature of Mr Holmes' work.
Brigitte Chandler, a leading industrial disease lawyer and partner at Charles Lucas & Marshall who represented the family, says there was a considerable amount of asbestos at Rutherford Laboratories.
"Sadly this is not the only person who has suffered from asbestos disease as a result of working at Rutherford Laboratory," she said. "There is yet another case in the pipeline and others who worked there who were exposed to asbestos may also develop asbestos disease as a result."
Initially Mr Holmes' former employer disputed liability but agreed to settle the matter out of Court before it went to trial.
Anyone who is concerned about exposure to asbestos should contact the Swindon & South West Asbestos Group, a regional charity which provides information and advice about asbestos disease. All the work the charity does is free of charge. They can be contacted at: PO Box 2729, Swindon, SN1 4ZW. Telephone: 01793 496395. Email: info@asbestosgroup.co.uk Website: www.asbestosgroup.co.uk
For more information contact Brigitte Chandler on 01793 511055 or brigitte.chandler@clmlaw.co.uk
Brigitte Chandler (contact details):
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